MANILA: A total of 171 foreigners with records of conviction or involvement in sex offenses have been stopped from entering the country last year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Friday.

Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the foreigners were turned away pursuant to a provision in the Immigration Act which forbids the entry of aliens who have been convicted or charged with crimes involving moral turpitude.

Records show that 129 Americans account for the bulk of the excluded sex offenders, followed by 15 Britons, four Australians, and four Irishmen.

Two Germans and two Chinese nationals are also on the list.

Of the 171 aliens, 153 were turned back for being registered sex offenders (RSOs) while the rest were either charged with sex crimes or are subjects of complaints for similar offenses.

‘They were also placed in our blacklist of undesirable aliens to make sure that they are excluded if they attempt again to come here in the future. Their presence poses a serious risk to our women and children
,’ Tansingco said in a statement.

RSOs refer to persons who have been placed in a registry of sex offenders by their governments after their convictions, service of sentence or release on probation.

The practice enables authorities of a particular country to keep track of the sex offenders’ movements and warn their foreign counterparts if any of these perons are traveling to the latter’s territory.

Meanwhile, the BI announced that its main office in Intramuros, Manila will be closed on January 9 pursuant to the directive issued by Malacañang.

On Thursday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared January 9 a special non-working day in Manila in connection with the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

‘Applicants may proceed to other BI offices in the Metro for their immigration needs,’ the BI said in a statement.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LEGAZPI: The Police Regional Office in Bicol (PRO5) has seized some PHP90.3 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 1,076 drug personalities from 989 drug operations in the six provinces in the region in 2023, a police official said Friday.

“Out of the 1,076 individuals charged with drug-related offenses, 1,786 cases have already been filed in court. Some drug offenders face two or three cases, that’s why the cases filed were higher than the arrested suspects,” PRO5 spokesperson Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib said in an interview.

Calubaquib said the seized illegal drugs include 630.0997 grams of marijuana, 13,176.7867 grams of shabu, and 129.41 grams of cocaine.

“The combined street value of these seized illegal drugs amounts to a staggering PHP90,363,650.56,” she said.

PRO5 also confiscated and recovered 1,815 assorted firearms from 246 individuals during 1,615 operations against unregistered firearms.

Meanwhile, the regional police force conducted 882 operations against illegal gambling last year, resul
ting in the apprehension of 2,406 violators and the confiscation of PHP1.12 million in bet money.

‘Appropriate complaints were filed, initiating legal action against the arrested offenders,” Calubaquib said.

She said ongoing efforts to combat illegal fishing led to the apprehension of 968 individuals and the seizure of PHP15.6 million in cash, along with fish and related paraphernalia.

Some 264 anti-illegal logging operations led to the arrest of 338 individuals and the confiscation of PHP1.4 million worth of lumber and flitches, she added.

In combating criminal gangs, PRO5 operations led to 19 arrests, one fatality and 19 voluntary surrenders.

Arrested wanted criminals with pending arrest warrants at the regional level were pegged at 131; provincial level – 96; city level – 104; municipal level – 575; and an additional 4,224 apprehensions of other wanted persons.

Calubaquib said the conduct of internal security operations resulted in the apprehension of 115 rebels and the death of five others, along wi
th the seizure of 75 firearms of various calibers and 101 explosives.

“Also, 125 individuals voluntarily surrendered to authorities due to the implementation of the Retooled Community Support Program (RPSB). The program played a crucial role in encouraging New People’s Army (NPA) members to lay down their arms and bring their allegiance back to the government,” she said.

Calubaquib said PRO5, led by acting regional director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon, is committed to sustaining the momentum in its police operations to ensure peace and order in the Bicol region for 2024.

“Embracing a three-fold strategy known as the APD (Approachable, Presentable, and Dependable) Kasurog cops, the unit demonstrated an increased commitment to providing Serbisyong Nagkakaisa (Unity in Service) for the people of Bicol,” she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

LEGAZPI: The Police Regional Office in Bicol (PRO5) has seized some PHP90.3 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 1,076 drug personalities from 989 drug operations in the six provinces in the region in 2023, a police official said Friday.

“Out of the 1,076 individuals charged with drug-related offenses, 1,786 cases have already been filed in court. Some drug offenders face two or three cases, that’s why the cases filed were higher than the arrested suspects,” PRO5 spokesperson Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib said in an interview.

Calubaquib said the seized illegal drugs include 630.0997 grams of marijuana, 13,176.7867 grams of shabu, and 129.41 grams of cocaine.

“The combined street value of these seized illegal drugs amounts to a staggering PHP90,363,650.56,” she said.

PRO5 also confiscated and recovered 1,815 assorted firearms from 246 individuals during 1,615 operations against unregistered firearms.

Meanwhile, the regional police force conducted 882 operations against illegal gambling last year, resul
ting in the apprehension of 2,406 violators and the confiscation of PHP1.12 million in bet money.

‘Appropriate complaints were filed, initiating legal action against the arrested offenders,” Calubaquib said.

She said ongoing efforts to combat illegal fishing led to the apprehension of 968 individuals and the seizure of PHP15.6 million in cash, along with fish and related paraphernalia.

Some 264 anti-illegal logging operations led to the arrest of 338 individuals and the confiscation of PHP1.4 million worth of lumber and flitches, she added.

In combating criminal gangs, PRO5 operations led to 19 arrests, one fatality and 19 voluntary surrenders.

Arrested wanted criminals with pending arrest warrants at the regional level were pegged at 131; provincial level – 96; city level – 104; municipal level – 575; and an additional 4,224 apprehensions of other wanted persons.

Calubaquib said the conduct of internal security operations resulted in the apprehension of 115 rebels and the death of five others, along wi
th the seizure of 75 firearms of various calibers and 101 explosives.

“Also, 125 individuals voluntarily surrendered to authorities due to the implementation of the Retooled Community Support Program (RPSB). The program played a crucial role in encouraging New People’s Army (NPA) members to lay down their arms and bring their allegiance back to the government,” she said.

Calubaquib said PRO5, led by acting regional director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon, is committed to sustaining the momentum in its police operations to ensure peace and order in the Bicol region for 2024.

“Embracing a three-fold strategy known as the APD (Approachable, Presentable, and Dependable) Kasurog cops, the unit demonstrated an increased commitment to providing Serbisyong Nagkakaisa (Unity in Service) for the people of Bicol,” she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista has belied the claim of a commuters’ group that the minimum fare for modern jeepneys would increase to PHP50 after the implementation of the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

In a statement on Thursday, Bautista explained that the primary consideration for any fare increase in public transport is the cost of fuel.

“We strongly believe there is no basis on the alleged PHP50 minimum fare,” he said.

Fare increase petitions are subject to the en banc deliberation of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), he added.

“It will also require NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) opinion as to the inflationary effect of any increase, as well as giving due consideration to affordability of the commuting public,” Bautista said.

In a television interview, commuters group PARA-Advocates for Inclusive Transport said the PUV modernization program comes with a financial burden for jeepney operator
s and drivers.

It said the basis for the fare increase would be for operators to pay for the loans, apart from earning a living.

The current minimum fare is PHP13 for traditional jeepneys and PHP15 for modern jeepneys.

In 2017 when the PUV modernization program began, the minimum fare was PHP9 for traditional jeepneys and PHP11 for modern jeepneys.

“This showed that LTFRB has always balanced the need of drivers against commuters when fuel price increase happens,” Bautista said.

Under the modernization program, the consolidation deadline for jeepney operators and drivers – the first phase of the program – was on Dec. 31, 2023.

Jeepney operators and drivers who failed to join the PUV modernization program will be allowed to operate beyond the Dec. 31 consolidation deadline but only in routes that have few consolidated units.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SOFIA: Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeikov said that he hopes that Bulgaria will become a full member of Schengen with removed land internal border controls at the end of 2024.

Gvozdeikov, , who spoke on the Bulgarian National Television on Wednesday morning, said that all EU Member States offered an assessment, according to which both Bulgaria and Romania are ready for Schengen membership.

The Minister pointed out that this was the first assessment, and a second stage is upcoming.

Gvozdeikov said: “The capacity of the borders is extremely busy at the moment. What needs to be done is to ease the control regime itself, but to implement it strictly”.

Gvozdeikov also spoke about the Bulgarian-owned Malta-flagged bulk carrier Verila, which had six members of her crew detained by Irish authorities shortly before Christmas.

He said: “The information available is that the rest of the crew have been released. The ship is still detained. After the completion of the investigation, the ship s
hould return to Bulgaria”.

Another Bulgarian-owned ship, Ruen, is in Somali territorial waters.

The crew is in good health, there is no threat to their lives, and negotiations are underway for their release, the Minister reported.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SOFIA: Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeikov said that he hopes that Bulgaria will become a full member of Schengen with removed land internal border controls at the end of 2024.

Gvozdeikov, , who spoke on the Bulgarian National Television on Wednesday morning, said that all EU Member States offered an assessment, according to which both Bulgaria and Romania are ready for Schengen membership.

The Minister pointed out that this was the first assessment, and a second stage is upcoming.

Gvozdeikov said: “The capacity of the borders is extremely busy at the moment. What needs to be done is to ease the control regime itself, but to implement it strictly”.

Gvozdeikov also spoke about the Bulgarian-owned Malta-flagged bulk carrier Verila, which had six members of her crew detained by Irish authorities shortly before Christmas.

He said: “The information available is that the rest of the crew have been released. The ship is still detained. After the completion of the investigation, the ship s
hould return to Bulgaria”.

Another Bulgarian-owned ship, Ruen, is in Somali territorial waters.

The crew is in good health, there is no threat to their lives, and negotiations are underway for their release, the Minister reported.

Source: Philippines News Agency